


College is Going to Kick my Ass

by zaynedere



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Korean Keith (Voltron), Latino Lance (Voltron), M/M, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-14 04:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7998520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zaynedere/pseuds/zaynedere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith is going to college for the first time, and barely has an idea of what he's doing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Showers

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfiction guys!! Kinda. Anyways, this isn't beta'd or anything, so there may be mistakes. Please let me know, if there happen to be any! Constructive criticism is very, very welcome!

Keith and Shiro were close; they’ve been close since a few months after Shiro’s family adopted Keith, and that was four years ago. Shiro was the eldest one out of the two, four years older than Keith in fact, but he kept close to the other. After he went off to college while the younger was just entering high school, Keith Skyped him every weekend and was the first to hug him when he came home for vacation. 

College life had sounded terrible to Keith, a sixteen year old adopted Korean kid with social anxiety, but he was determined to go to college like his parents had wanted. Keith’s parents were fairly rich, both parents having high positions in companies that he couldn’t remember. They’d been killed in an accident when the boy was seven, and the teen still had dreams about the time, since he’d been in the car with them. He had major scarring on his upper arms and some not so nasty burn scars on his back, and the guy despised it when people saw them. Pity would radiate off them and Keith hated that; he didn’t want their pity. 

As soon as Keith graduated, he and Shiro partied, since the elder got a job at the local college as a student teacher. Their joys went south soon though, as Shiro’s own parents had passed away due to his Mom driving while on the phone with a friend, with his dad and Shiro in the car as well. The elder had lost his left arm in the crash, and it made the summer horrible and hot and sad. Keith had stayed in his room for a whole week because he managed lose another set of parents and his practical brother had lost an arm. He came out soon though and would sit with Shiro for awhile, listening to the other cry, or talk, or ramble about how frustrated he was. After a month of this, the two decided to get back to a normal life, as close as they could get to one. 

Keith helped Shiro with the new prosthetic when he received it, doing menial tasks with him and keeping the other from getting too frustrated. Another month passed and Shiro was definitely getting the hang of it, so Keith stopped mother henning him (as much) and focused on the upcoming month, since that’s when college started. He was nervous to say the least; a new environment with new people, besides Shiro, since the older was a student teacher now. Keith would be living at the dorms, and was lucky enough to get his own room; sadly though, that room didn't come with a shower. That was the one thing he was most scared of; he didn’t need a bunch of guys seeing his scars. He tried to keep his mind off of it, and eventually forgot about it, focusing more on Shiro. 

The two boys would occasionally sit down together and tangle their legs together and watch a shitty movie or something, usually they end up huddling together and talking about Shiro’s parents for an hour, which left them both in tears afterwards. It was comforting though; it was nice to have someone to talk to. 

\----

As the first week of college started up, Keith almost wanted to go home and just curl up forever. It was a tempting thought, but he already promised Shiro that they’d meet up in his room, so he lugged most of his stuff out of their shared car, and upstairs to the second floor of his dorm. He, thankfully, knew where his room was already and gravitated towards it, quickly unlocking the door and pushing his way in. He not so gently put his stuff in the room, and sighed softly. The room was small, as expected, with a kitchen taking up about a fifth of it. The walls were smooth and painted a creamy white, and the carpets matched it with a mixed brown, found in most homes in the area. A single bed sat in the corner, and it honestly didn’t look as cheap as Keith thought it was going to be, which was comforting. The bathroom door sat next to the closet, and the teen had already located the showers, making sure to get there as early as possible every morning. 

A knock came to his door, and Keith mentally prepared himself for anyone that wasn’t Shiro. Luckily, as Keith opened the door, it was just said man, wearing a long sleeve shirt and skinny jeans. A few boxes were behind him, and Keith quickly noted that the large cardboard cubes were the boxes left in the car. He ushered Shiro in and pushed the boxes in, closing the door quietly behind him. Immediately, the younger was being swept up in a bear hug by the elder. 

“You’re gonna do great dude. You’ve even got your own dorm room, like, wow. You’re way lucky,” Shiro said in his deep voice, happiness on his face as he parted from Keith. 

Said man smiled softly up at Shiro, nodding softly. “Yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky. But none of my friends are going here, so it’s kind of nerve wracking,” He says in his normal, quiet tone. Keith was never a loud one. 

“No worries! This college is great; you’ll make a ton of friends, I promise. I can even introduce you to a few of mine, they’re around your age anyways.”

“How do you know people around my age?”

Shiro laughed. “Dude, I’ve got a social life, and I’m not a grandpa. I’m only four years older than you.”

“If you say so,” Keith said softly, a smile on his pale face. He was happy that Shiro was here. He wouldn’t be able to do this alone. 

\--

After Shiro left to attend a meeting, Keith started unpacking everything. First, he put his medication away in his bedside drawer, like they always are. There were only two pills; one for his social anxiety, and one for the depression that the doctors think he has. Keith doesn’t think he has it, but takes them anyways just in case they were right. Next, he set up his small flatscreen on the floor with his Playstation 4, and the few physical games he has for it. The bed was made next, decked out with simple black blankets and pillows since Keith was boring like that. He then put the bowls and silverware away, a few pots and pans, and his rice cooker away. A few kinds of staple foods were put in the shitty fridge and limited cabinets. 

That was pretty much it; Keith didn’t own a lot, and the stuff he didn’t need for college were back where Shiro was living; so he didn’t have to worry about them. The only things left were picture frames filled with memories that Keith cried over a lot when he was alone. He looked over them for a moment, reminding himself of which ones he happened to bring. The first was an old framed picture of him and his biological family at Disneyland, a few weeks before they had passed away. He set that next to his bed like he had back at home, wanting some semblence of his old life. Next was a picture of just his biological parents, smiling in a picture taken on a hiking trip in Korea, before he was born. Those were the only pictures he had of his parents, and he held them closely. He didn’t like anyone touching them, not even Shiro. The next two pictures were of him and Shiro’s family, everyone smiling and happy. It was a little weird to see the elder wearing a tank top, since now he was so self conscious of his arm, he went out in a long sleeve shirt in one hundred degree weather. Keith didn’t blame him, he knew all too well of how that felt. 

Keith got up and hung those two pictures on the wall next to his bed, leaving the last picture of his parents tucked away in his drawers. Now all unpacked, he needed to get to the showers before everyone else, since most kids showered the next day when they’re moving in. He gathered up his bathroom items and headed down, spirit shattering when he heard two others in the showers. He did his best to ignore them, silently making his way over to a stall farthest from the two on the opposite end, and closed the curtain. He took a deep breath and hung up his clothes, turning on the shower. 

“Dude,” He heard a voice say. It had a pleasant sound to it, but the guy definitely sounded like someone who did stupid shit for the vine. “I think theres another guy in here.”

“And?” Swooped in a deeper voice, definitely warmer and more welcoming. “Lance, It’s a public shower area. Why wouldn’t there be another guy in here.”

Keith felt vaugely uncomfortable that they were talking about him, and quickly started washing his hair.

Lance, he presumed, spoke again, and the words made him freeze. “We should totally talk to him! Not that he couldn’t already hear us but like, dude, I need more friends besides you, sir Pidge, and our buff dad-friend.”

Keith did not want to some loud stranger when he was undressed; he didn’t want his first impression to be a shit ton of scars and a soapy head. Keith cleared his throat, hoping that the shakyness has left. “Uh, I don’t think making f-friends in the shower is the best idea, buddy.” Curse his voice.

Lance laughed. “Hunk, look! He speaks, see?”

“I don’t think he wants to be friends…” Hunk, he presumed. 

“Non-sense! Everyone likes friends. He’s probably just new around here.” He already hates this Lance guy and he hasn’t even seen him. 

Keith hurried up and finished washing up, turning off the water and drying off. When he heard the other two turn off their water, he slipped on a shirt and underwear just before a tanned hand pulled back his shower curtain, two men standing on the other side and clad only in towels around their waists. Keith was immediately nervous, and almost freaked out at the two guys. They were both taller, but the tallest one looked like Lance’s voice matched up with him. He had tanned skin and dark brown hair, and was really lanky. He didn’t have a lot of muscle, mostly skin and bones from what he could tell. The other, presumably Hunk, was a larger man, looking to be of Hawai’ian heritage. He had short, thick black hair that was slicked back from the shower, and overall had a trust worthy air about him. 

“Hola,” Lance said, sticking his hand out. “Names Lance. This is Hunk.” Keith ignored them and pulled his pants on. 

“Uh, Lance, was it? I’d prefer not to talk to anyone right now. Like… Yeah.” That's what Keith replied with in his quiet voice and quickly grabbed his things and hurried past them, rushing upstairs into his room. He heard Lance make a scoffing noise, and Keith went even faster.

He had to calm himself down lest he had an anxiety attack, and made some quick rice for dinner. He wasn’t super hungry, and he didn’t feel like drowning his thoughts in cooking at the moment. Twenty minutes passed, and Keith was scooping rice into a bowl, quietly eating it as he thought about the two he had encountered. They didn’t seem like bad people at all, but surprising Keith like that wasn’t the greatest thing in the world.

After he had eaten his fill and cleaned up, Keith flopped into his bed and set an alarm on his phone, sighing heavily and dragging himself under the covers. 

College was going to kick his ass.


	2. Chapter 2

Keith groaned as a loud, upbeat tone echoed through his small dorm room. He regretted setting his alarm so early; classes didn’t start until next week anyways. Keith listened to the downright annoying music for a good two minutes, then decided that he might as well get up and turn it off. Once the alarm was off and his bladder was relieved, he took his necessary medications and changed into some new clothes. 

 

The routine wasn’t new, but this college was, and he thought about roaming around and finding all of his classes. Keith didn’t want to do that alone, however, so he texted Shiro and asked for the elder to join him in his roaming. He bit his lip as he waited for a response. Maybe Shiro was busy? Or maybe he didn’t want to tag along with Keith? What if-

 

His phone vibrated with a message, and Keith let his mind relax as he read the message. Shiro was going to accompany him, thankfully, and would be there in twenty minutes. After a good five minutes of thinking of what he should do, he decided to fire up his Playstation and play The Last of Us, one of his favorite games. He couldn’t say what his favorite part about it was, he just really enjoyed the game all together. 

 

He had restarted the game and got absorbed into the story, nearly jumping out of his skin when a knock came to the door. He paused the gorgeous game and got up, smiling softly at Shiro. The elder came into the room, smiling fondly at the gaming system. “Isn’t this like your, what, eighth time playing this game?”

 

Keith laughed. “Ninth, actually. It’s a great game, you can’t judge me.” Shiro agreed, laughing along with him. Shiro then looked around the rather empty room, eyes landing the picture of their smaller family, more specifically his parents. A fond smile came to his face as he gazed at the picture, looking down then taking his attention off of it lest he started getting too emotional. He watched as Keith saved the game and turned off the console, ruffling the youngers mullet and chuckled when the recipient grumbled and fixed his hair. 

 

“Ready to go, kiddo? I can give you the full tour, and introduce you to some of my friends.” The younger stiffened at the mention of actually  _ socializing _ , but his elder quickly soothed him. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll love you. They’re really nice people.” 

 

Ten minutes later, Keith was locking his dorm room door and nodding at Shiro, and the both of them started walking, Shiro leading them. First, they went to where Keith’s first class was, which was where Shiro was also student teaching, luckily. It soothed the youngers nerves as the thought of a familiar face on his first day crossed his mind. Just because he took medication for his anxiety, doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to get anxiety attacks. It just makes them way less likely to happen. 

 

After seeing his first class, they moved onto his second and third classes, which were relatively close together. When they were finished finding Keiths classes, it was almost eleven, so the two decided that lunch would be a good idea. They hopped into their shared jeep, and drove a few miles to their regular diner; one that their parents had introduced them to when Keith was first adopted. The owners were a really nice couple in their fifties, and knew the two boys by heart. When they heard about the accident, Wendy, the wife, had stepped in to be their replacement mother, bringing over food and making sure the boys were taking care of themselves. They usually called her mom now, and the two really loved her like a mom.

 

When they stepped in, said woman was in the middle of taking an order, and as soon as her eyes landed on them she squealed, dropping her notepad and dashing over, bringing the two into her arms. “My boys! Its been so long since you’ve been here, I got worried!” Shiro and Keith chuckled softly, returning her embrace. The woman was about as tall as Keith, and had shoulder length, wavy ginger hair that smelled of strawberries. She was really one of the best people that the two knew. 

 

Once they pulled away, she pushed them to their normal booth in the back and then hurried back to the table she was taking the order from, apologizing and finishing up. She dropped the ticket next to the kitchen window, where a hand belonging to her husband popped up and grabbed it. “Dear,” She called back as she walked towards her two favorites. “Shiro and Keith are here! Make sure to come say hi when you’re finished!” She then took her seat next to Keith, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close. “How have you two been? It’s been a few weeks since I last had the chance to come over.”

 

Keith leaned into her comforting embrace, closing his eyes and smiling softly. Shiro took that moment to speak for the two of them. “Well, yesterday we got Keith moved into his dorm room for college, which was pretty exciting. A whole room to himself, too.” Their step in mom gasped, grinning and holding Keith closer.

 

“Keith, I’m so proud of you, my goodness! I remember when you got that acceptance letter; you all came in that evening smiling wider than ever.” Wendy ruffled Keiths hair, smiling. “So, do you guys want your usual for lunch? I also just made some lemonade if you want some!” She stood, watching as the two nodded. “Shiro, do you want me to put yours in a mug for you or can you use a normal glass?” She asked, referring to the others prosthetic. 

 

“Ah, a mug would be great actually,” He replied softly, and she nodded, smiling. 

 

“I’ll be right out with that then.” The boys watched her walk away, smiling fondly. They were really lucky to have her. Shiro stretched his good arm up, sighing. 

  
“Man, I can’t believe you’re in college already. It seems like yesterday you were still trying to get used to highschool.” Keith laughed softly at Shiro, nodding. 

 

“Yeah… It kinda does actually,” Keith replied, shrugging his shoulders, a loose smile on his lips. Before their conversation could continue, the front entrance jingled and recognition glistened in Shiro’s eyes. 

 

“Hey, guys!” He waved to a group of people Keith couldn’t see. “I didn’t know you guys came here. Come sit with us.” Keith immediately got up and switched sides, sitting next to Shiro. When he looked up at the group approaching them, he paled. Lance and Hunk, the two from the showers last night, were there. Keith kept his face down, picking at his napkin as Lance’s loud and cheerful voice directed itself at them. 

 

“Shiro, my dude! We were looking for you at campus, but Hunk got hungry so we headed over here.” Hunk grumbled behind the other. 

 

“Lance, I think you were the one that got ‘so hungry that you could eat a spaceship’ if I recall.”    
  


Lance rolled his eyes, sliding into the booth seat across from them, Hunk sliding in next to them. A third person smiled as she saw Shiro, and Keith examined her. The girl had brilliantly white hair that was a stark contrast to her tanned skin. Her skin was really smooth, and she had these really pretty blue eyes that made Keith think she was wearing contacts. He could feel Shiro shift, and looked over, noticing his smile but also noticing his prosthetic hand sliding under the table. 

 

“Hey guys. Uh, if you wanna sit here Allura, I can get up and grab a-”

 

“Its fine,” Keith interrupted. “I’ll, uh, go sit at the counter.” Shiro touched his arm, light concern in his eyes.  _ You’re sure?  _ Keith nodded at the question that hadn’t been voiced, getting up and heading over to the breakfast bar and sitting down, smiling softly at the woman he considered his mom. 

 

“Keith?” Wendy questioned, lips drawing into a pout when she looked over at the booth. “Do you not know them?” She asked softly, setting his lemonade in front of him. She knew all about the youngers social anxiety, and worried over him constantly. Keith shook his head softly, sipping the lemonade. 

 

“I don’t. I know they’re Shiro’s friends, but lately it’s been a lot moving into the new place, so I figured I’d let Shiro hang out with his friends.” The woman sighed and ruffled Keiths hair, smiling at him. 

 

“Well, then you can keep me company then. You can go ahead and grab your breakfast when it pops up; I’m going to give Shiro his lemonade and take his friends order, okay?” Keith nodded at her, smiling softly. She grinned back and grabbed Shiro’s mug, bringing it back to the booth. Keith watched her put it down, and the uncertainty in his face as he raised his prosthetic hand and threaded his fingers through the handle, lifting it slowly and sipping out of it. Shiro’s prosthetic looked like a normal hand, but sometimes Shiro had a hard time lifting things or getting the fingers to work the way he wanted them too. 

 

Keith figured that his friends didn’t know about his arm, he didn’t like telling people. He hadn’t let anyone visit him in the hospital besides Keith, and didn’t let anyone visit until he got his prosthetic and was somewhat familiar with it. 

 

Keith looked up at the ordering window and smiled fondly at the chef, the elder man smiling back. “It’s nice to see you Keith! It’s been awhile; Oh! Here’s your breakfast.” He set it down on the ordering window, and Keith went behind the counter and picked up the warm plate. “Made it just how you like it.”

Keith thanked him and sat back down at the bar, eating his eggs and hashbrowns quietly. He really liked it here; the people, the food. Everything was familiar and it helped calm him down in times of panic. He heard Shiro laughing along with his friends at the booth, and sometimes Keith wished he could have that. Maybe he’ll make some friends when he actually starts college. Hopefully.

 

When he’d finished his breakfast, he felt a hand clap itself on his back, which startled Keith into dropping his fork. “Dude, aren’t you the guy from the showers last night? I’d totally recognize that ugly haircut anywhere.” Keith bristled. It was Lance, and the shorter immediately didn’t like him.

 

Brushing off his hand, Keith sighed. “Yeah? What do you want?” Although he tried not to, hostility laced his voice. He could practically hear Lance rolling his eyes. 

 

“Dude, chill. Shiro said you needed some friends, so I came over here to, y’know, be friendly.” Keith’s head whipped back to glare at Shiro, who smiled nervously. Keith let out a heavy sigh and got off of his stool, huffing. 

 

“I don’t know if I want to be friends with some guy who introduced himself to me by forcing my shower curtain away, fully aware that I could be nude.” Lance laughed, and that made Keith even angrier. “Don’t laugh! It’s not funny!”

 

“It totally is, man. You’re so scared of someone seeing your junk. Newsflash; everyone that goes into the showers has a dong, don’t be a prude.” 

 

Keith stiffened and forced himself to take a breath, briskly walking away from Lance and towards Shiro. “Can I have a word?” The table had gone silent and Keith was uncomfortable with the many pairs of eyes on him. Shiro nodded, having Allura slide over so he could get out. Keith was already out the door, brushing past a really confused Lance. 

 

Keith was leaning against the jeep, face in his hands when Shiro came out. The elder immediately came out, a hand on his shoulder. “Keith, are you alright?” He asked softly. Keith brushed away his hand. 

 

“Just, don’t Shiro. Don’t. Why did you send him up? He made it worse; I don’t wanna be friends with that-that  _ asshole. _ ” Shiro then laughed. 

 

“Keith, Lance was just trying to be funny. I know he’s not good at it, and he may not seem like the best person in the world, but I think you guys will get along. Just, give it a try. Please?” Shiro made those puppy eyes at Keith, and the younger resisted for only a moment before relaxing and sighing. 

 

“Fine.”

 

The two re-entered the small restaurant, and Keith opted for bringing up a chair to the end of the booth, sipping his lemonade as Wendy brought over the rest of the food, smiling fondly at Keith. “Here you go kiddos.” She rested a hand on the younger's shoulder, squeezing it softly in comfort. “So, are you all going to the same college as my Keith here?” Keith felt himself blush a bit; Wendy really treated him like her own son. Everyone besides Shiro gave a soft nod, having their faces full of food. She smiled and left, keeping an eye on them from afar. Lance was the first to finish, looking over at Keith with a smirk. 

 

“Didn’t know your mom worked here,” Lance smiled. “That’s pretty cool, getting free food all of the time.” Keith could tell that Lance legitimately thought that Wendy was his mom, and he laughed softly. Maybe Shiro didn’t talk about him much. 

 

“No, She’s not my mom, but she’s really nice and actually does give me free food sometimes. It’s nice.” Shiro nodded at Keith, smiling softly. 

 

Lance nodded, smiling softly at him. “I can’t believe she can look past that mullet; it’s really hard.” The table erupted into a fit of giggles, and Keith frowned, huffing softly. He could tell though, that there was no resentment or hate behind Lance’s words. It was nice. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My updates usually won't be as quick haha! This chapter was kind of filler, but please any criticisms in the comments!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some Korean and Spanish in this chapter, but I didn't want to butcher it with google translate so I just put it in italics! If only they were German and French QnQ
> 
> Enjoy!! It's not beta'd, btw

The next day was relatively peaceful; Keith spent the day familiarizing himself in his room and playing some video games. The day before went relatively smoothly, and he’d learned a lot about Shiro’s friends. Allura and Shiro obviously liked each other, but both were probably too chicken to admit it. The woman was british, and Shiro had later told him that she was fairly famous on social media for the makeup that she did. 

 

Lance was fairly loud and talked a million miles an hour, but seemed pretty friendly. He and his large family are originally from Mexico, and moved to the state's only a few years ago. The man was obnoxious at worst, and Keith let himself believe that they had a chance at friendship. 

 

Hunk was confirmed Hawai’ian, and happened to be a super sweet guy. The man had met Lance online when they were both in eighth grade, and both of their families moved to the same town in the same year. They’ve been inseparable since, and Keith wondered how such a nice guy like Hunk could stay friends with a guy like Lance. Then again, it wasn’t his place to judge, so he didn’t. 

 

There was another friend-Pidge, he remembered-that wasn’t present. They were younger than the rest of Shiro’s friends, and incredibly smart. That’s all Keith could get from the group before everyone parted, heading out and to their separate dorms. 

 

Keith swore as he was killed by a clicker in his game, frowning at the graphic way Joel died. He had the cutscene memorized, and occasionally made fun of Joel when Shiro was around. 

 

He spent the day doing that, lounging around in his pajamas and killing fictional creatures. His brother texted him around six pm, mentioning that him and his friends were going out to dinner and asking if he’d like to join. Keith hesitated; going out to dinner sounded nice because that meant he didn’t have to cook, but it also meant  _ socializing,  _ which obviously didn’t appeal to the man. In the end he agreed to go, as long as he could sit next to Shiro the entire time. 

 

He got dressed in black skinny jeans and a maroon vee neck, long sleeve shirt. He wasn’t gonna lie; he looked pretty good with the way the shirt hugged his body, but still slid on his leather gloves; no one needed to see his scars. It was another ten minutes before a knock came to his door, and he opened it expecting Shiro, but instead found Lance and Hunk in the man's place. 

 

“Yo, Keith. Shiro asked us to pick you up, he went to go get his  _ girlfriend, _ ” Lance cooed with an eyebrow wiggle, and Hunk smacked his head. 

 

“Be nice. They’re not dating yet.”

 

“ _ Yet.” _ Hunk rolled his eyes at what Lance said, then turned to Keith. 

 

“Ready?” Keith nodded, quietly following the two out of the dorms and to the parking lot. The trio climbed into an older looking truck, and thankfully Hunk was at the wheel. Keith could trust Hunk with his life, but Lance was a different story. Said man rambled on about the place they were going to for dinner, which just so happened to be a Korean barbeque restaurant. Of course, as soon as they got there, Lance asked him if he could read the Korean lettering on the door. It just said ‘welcome, we take orders in Korean’, but Keith wasn’t going to admit that he actually could read it. He frowned at Lance and said, “Oh, it just says that you’re an asshole.”

 

That brought a laugh out of everyone, and Keith felt less nervous about the situation, especially when Shiro and Allura walked up to them, holding hands. Guess they weren’t chicken after all. Lance let out a yell in victory, clapping at the two thay walked up. “ _ Finally.  _ I’m not sure how much longer I could have lasted in the sexual tension around you two.” Lance got another smack from Hunk, Keith rolling his eyes. 

The two lovebirds blushed intensely, chuckling softly. Shiro spoke after a moment, clearing his throat. “Okay, lets get inside!” Everyone walked in, and Keith smiled at all of the pictures from South Korea that littered the walls; he’d been there once a few years back when Shiro’s parents got him a plane ticket for christmas, and he dearly missed the country. A waitress led the large group to a booth, handing them each a menu and taking drink orders.

 

Lance had a bit of an accent when he asked for lemonade, and the waitress looked confused. Shiro repeated it, but it still didn’t help. She was obviously new, and although it made Keith uncomfortable, he cleared his voice and translated it for her, receiving a grateful smile as everyone else ordered.

 

All eyes were on him, and he shrunk in his seat next to Shiro, eyes trained on the table. Lance was the first to speak. “Dude, their staff should know English before setting up shop.” A frown crossed Keith’s face as he looked Lance in the eye. 

 

“English isn’t an easy language to learn.”

 

“Well duh, I had to learn it too. My native language is  _ Spanish _ -”

 

“Which is similar to English.”

 

“Whatever. You probably learned Korean online.”

 

“Lance,” Shiro butts in, noticing how anxious his brother was. “Keith was  _ born  _ in Korea; he didn’t learn any English until he was ten.”

 

Lance stopped talking, leaving the table in a tense silence. Keith spoke up, taking a breath. “Like I said, English is really hard to learn, and it takes  _ years _ to be fluent in it. Don’t assume everything is as easy as you think.”

 

Before they could speak again, the waitress brought them their drinks, looking at Keith and speaking to him in Korean. 

 

_ “Thank you for earlier. I just moved here a few months ago, and English is really complicated.”  _

 

Keith laughed softly, nodding.  _ “No problem. I’ve lived in America for a long time, it gets easier.”  _

 

She nodded then took everyone's orders, this time able to understand everything. Everyone absorbed themselves in conversation, Shiro shifting to look at Keith. “That waitress was really nice, you should get her number.”

 

Keith blushed, furrowing his eyebrows. “Shiro, I’m  _ gay _ .”

 

“Yeah, but you don’t have a lot of friends who speak fluent Korean, and all I got out of that was that English is difficult.” Keith nodded at Shiro’s statement, sipping his water. The evening after their conversation hadn’t gone too bad after that, Keith enjoying food that was kind of from home. It was a little more americanized, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. 

 

Once the meal was over and paid for, Keith walked up ahead of the group and spoke to waitress, who was sitting at the counter. She sat up straighter at the sight of him, and Keith noticed a soft blush on her face.

 

_ “I just wanted to know if uhm, I could get your phone number? I don’t know a lot of other people who speak Korean so…”  _ The girl nodded and quickly grabbed a sticky note and pen from under the counter, scribbling down a phone number for Keith. He thanked her, waving a goodbye as the rest of his group left the building. He was significantly less nervous when he interacted with someone in his native language. 

 

Lance gave a light shove to his shoulder as they walked back to the car. “Dude, you’re  _ totally  _ gonna get some this weekend. That chick was  _ cute _ .”

 

Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes and getting in the truck. “Don’t assume that I got her number to have a one night stand; I don’t even like girls.”

 

The cab of the truck was silent for a moment as Hunk started it up, pulling out of the parking lot. “So… You’re gay?” Keith nodded, feeling less confident about the situation.

 

“Does-Does that bother you?” 

 

Lance looked back him, shaking his head with a slight smile. “No, but I’m  _ totally  _ gonna hook you up with my gay friend.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes again, laughing softly. At least Lance was chill with it. Hunk seemed pretty chill with it too, so that took a load off of his shoulders. The rest of the ride home was quiet, up until they parked. Lance spoke up after clearing his throat. “Hey, about the English thing earlier… I’m sorry. I guess you’re right-I have it a lot better than other people. I’ve been learning English since I could speak so… Yeah. Sorry.”

 

Keith smiled softly, climbing out of the truck and waiting for Lance to join him. “You’re forgiven. I… I know how easy it is to take things for granted.” The taller nudged him, waving at Hunk who had already started walking away with a yawn. Lance’s pocket buzzed and he was quick to fish the phone out of the area as they crossed the dark parking lot, keeping an even pace with one another. 

 

“Ma,  _ it’s late. Why are you calling so late? …  _ No.  _ Look, I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? … Yeah,  _ Love you too.” The other hung up, and Keith looked at him in wonder. The man really did speak fluent Spanish, and it sounded quite pretty coming from the taller’s mouth. All Keith could get from that was ‘Ma’ and ‘Love you too’, because they were obviously in English. Lance let out a groan as they entered the dorm building. “Moms, right? She’s called me like, a million times since she dropped me off here.”

 

Keith shrugged softly, his heart aching for that kind of love. “Maybe she’s just worried about you. She probably really loves you, and… And is scared to see you go.” Lance blinked down at Keith, frowning softly. “Y-You know how moms are… A-Annoying and overbear- Hey look, my room! I’ll just-just go now. See you later,” With that, Keith slid into his room with a shaky sigh, sniffing softly and willing his watery eyes to dry themselves. People really did take things for granted. 

 

\----

 

First day of college has arrived. Keith spent the past night tossing and turning in bed, anxious for the following day. His first class wasn’t until ten am, but he still set his alarm for six like usual, just to keep a routine. He turned off his upbeat alarm with a sigh, getting out of bed and swallowing down his pills. He’d barely slept, and after gathering his showering items, he decided that he would go out and get a coffee, deciding to just order with his phone on the Starbucks app. 

 

He quickly showered, dressing in attire similar to the one he wore to dinner two nights before then starting to walk down to the on campus coffee shop, ordering his drink with a few taps on his phone. Keith loved using that app, it meant that he wouldn’t have to actually  _ talk  _ to someone. After retrieving his coffee, he decided to sit on one of the benches outside, sipping at the warm cup slowly. It was a really nice morning; the sun had just come up, and the sky held a few wandering clouds that seemed to already be disappearing. The grass surrounding the area he was in was neatly trimmed, and a healthy green that almost made Keith want to go lay in it. Almost. 

 

After about ten minutes of sitting there, a somewhat familiar voice called out his name, and he looked up, seeing a tired Lance approaching him with his own coffee. “Hey there, mullet boy.” Keith frowned, but still let Lance sit beside him. “Whatcha doin’ up so early, huh? Stay up late textin’ some hot guy?” 

 

Keith rolled his eyes, sipping at his coffee. “I wake up this early everyday, numbnuts. You on the other hand, look like you don’t get up past ten on normal days.”

 

Lance laughed, taking a sip of his own coffee. “You’re right. This is like,  _ way  _ early for me. My mom kept me up last night; she kept handing the phone to my brothers and sisters and boy, can they  _ talk.  _ After that, I couldn’t really sleep. Oh, hey, I didn’t get the chance to ask, but what was with you when we were leaving dinner the other night? You got like, all emo-y.”

 

Keith frowned, stiffening slightly. Man, it was much too early for social interaction. He stared at the white cup in his hand for a moment, debating on telling Lance. He decided that he might as well, seeing as they were starting to become friends. “Well uh, you took it for granted. Your mom calling you, I mean.” Lance makes a confused face, turning towards Keith, who in turn continues speaking, eyes trained on his cup. “Not everyone has a mom that pesters them and worries over them, you know.”

 

“What, is your mom an asshole or something?”

 

“My mom is dead. And my dad. A-And my foster parents.” He felt tears prick at his eyes, and he willed them away. “So just remember that next time you complain about her bugging you, that some people wish they had that.” Tears were definitely making an appearance and he abruptly stood, sniffing softly. “I-I, sorry, I’m not good with-” 

 

Long arms wrapped around him and he froze, realizing that the other happened to be hugging him. “Sorry Keith, I didn’t know that something like that had happened to you. I didn’t know that bringing it up would make you cry-please stop crying.” Gentle thumbs wiped away his tears, and Keith opened the eyes he didn’t realize that he closed. Usually, such a touch by someone he barely knew wasn’t welcomed, but with Lance, it felt different. Comforting. It was weird, and almost made him uncomfortable. Keith let himself calm down, and smiled as Lanced grinned down at him. “There we go, all better.”

 

Laughing, Keith pulled away, sipping at the coffee he’d forgotten about. “Lance, I’m not a child.”

 

“Hm, no, you’re definitely a child. Short and emo,” Lance teased. Keith chuckled softly, combing his fingers through his hair.    
  


“What does that make you, a baby?” Lance laughed at Keith’s comeback, shaking his head. 

 

“Well anyways, I came over here to give you my number. Here, take off your glove and I’ll write it on your hand.”

 

Keith froze, hands clenching themselves into fists as if they were protecting themselves. “U-Uh, just write it on my cup?” 

 

Lance shrugged, smirking as he took the cup. “I didn’t know you were a  _ romantic.”  _

 

“Sorry, I think that’s only you.” Keith replied, swallowing down his anxiety. Oh no. There it was, he felt it, the tightening in his chest. Lance handed back the cup then check the time, swearing and saying a quick goodbye, then sprinting away. 

  
Keith looked down at the messy numbers written in black ink on his disposable cup, and the tightening returned. Oh  _ hell no.  _ He could  _ not  _ be falling for this idiot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmu @zaynewrites on twitter if you wanna talk!!


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